Malaysia to release data tracking missing plane

May 20, 2014
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A Malaysia Airlines worker walks up to a flight May 14 before departure at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline and satellite company Inmarsat agreed to release raw data that led the search for missing flight 370 to the Indian Ocean. / MANAN VATSYAYANA AFP/Getty Images

by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

The Malaysian government and a satellite company that helped track missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 announced Tuesday they are planning to release the raw data that led the search to be focused on a remote section of the Indian Ocean.

No timetable was announced for when the information will be released.

The Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation plans to release the data from Inmarsat, a British company whose satellite received several pings from the Boeing 777-200ER before the Beijing-bound flight went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

Initially, Inmarsat could only suggest how far the plane was from the satellite, which looked like a broad crescent shape extending from the Indian Ocean toward Europe.

But through Doppler calculations with Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, experts determined the plane was moving away from the satellite, which narrowed the search to an area 1,000 miles west of Australia.

Ships heard pings in early April that were presumed to be from the plane's recorders, which seemed to confirm the hypothesis. But because no debris has yet been found, the Malaysian government agreed to release the raw data behind the search.

The joint statement from the Malaysian government and Inmarsat said the data will be provided with explanations for readers to understand it.

"In moving forward, it is imperative for us to provide helpful information to the next of kin and general public," the statement said. "In line with our commitment towards greater transparency, all parties are working for the release of the data communication logs and the technical description of the analysis for public consumption."